Mark Hoddy in Oz - visiting a legend

Philbo: a Wine Legend

Phil(bo) Christiansen, owner of Longwood Wines, is a living legend in McLaren Vale.

As a born and bred child of the Vale, he remembers the place being very different indeed before all the investment and wine hype.  Phil started work as a trainee cellar hand at Hardy’s local Tintara winery but it wasn’t until Hardy’s appointed Steve Pannell as head winemaker back in the 90’s that things would change for him.  

Through Pannell’s inspiration and great cellar communications, Phil learnt how to make wine commercially and how to develop exciting wines for himself. Philbo was a big part of Tony Laithwaite’s highly successful RedHeads movement and today he has his own winery nestled high in the hills above McLaren Vale where he makes his own range of exquisite wines alongside contract winemaking for other talented growers. 

I have known Phil for many years from his frequent visits to Bordeaux to help with the harvest. I now find myself here in his home town and working for his mentor Steve Pannell who has returned to this part of the world to set up his own winery.

Philbo in his winery

Phil and his wife Lauren have kindly put me up at their place for a few days after the madness of harvest. Now I can get to see a bit of the Vale before heading off. And I can taste some of Phil’s exciting wines like his Adelaide Pinot Noir, a superb Cabernet Sauvignon and old-vine Grenache.

However, first things first in true Australian fashion: “let’s go and see a mate for a beer”. That ‘mate’ was Philbo’s school mate Drew Noon … another living legend in the Vale. 

Drew is a quiet, interesting and charming character. A winemaker of great experience, he is also one of the very few in Australia to pass the Master of Wine and now runs his small Noon Winery just down the road from Phil’s place. Drew has quite a following and all his wine is sells out pre-release … he even has a waiting list!  The cellar door opens on only a couple of weekends in November where wines are available to buy in limited quantities … these usually sell out within the first Saturday!

Drew and Phil ... living legends in the Vale

Therefore it was great to have a little look around, meet Drew personally to chat about his winemaking and how the 2015 went.  Drew unscrewed an old-vine Noon Eclipse Grenache for us to taste which was really lovely and superbly balanced. We also tasted/drank a bottle of his limited 150 bottle 2014 rose instead of a beer!

Tasting Drew's old-vine Grenache

A long day ... Domaine Pontfract, Correns

The younger-looking one has been making wine for 73 years ... Domaine Pontfract

Monsieur Paul has been making his wine for 73 years.  That must be a world record, no? He started aged 12 during the war when all the men were either fighting, in prison or labour camps. He says it was hard.

But the 350 year old family estate had to survive. Today, trim and distinctly more active than me, he was still at the cellar, alone, supervising the arrival, crushing and pumping of the grapes from his 35 hectares of prime land in Correns, the recently famous Provencal village where everything; wine/ food is 'Bio'... shops, farmers, everything.  Brad Pitt and Angelina now have their Château de Miraval here. (Years ago we sold volumes of that when owned the by jazz pianist Jacques Loussier). 

We liked the village's attitude so much we then put our Flying Winemakers into their co-op winery for several years. Made a difference. But now we are happy with M. Paul who was surprised to learn that there is a town called Pontefract in Yorkshire. He wished he'd known … would have liked to join in the Tour de France festivities. Amazing man, great wine. Living proof you can never really retire from our world.

A long drive up and up to the hills around Pierrevert and dynamic winemaker Hubert Sylvestre … who looks like a modern day Porthos and works in the highest vineyards of France. He is an inspiring guy. Big energy, big personality. And … just big. Few take the trouble to drive the many miles of winding roads up to where he works but these sunny-but-cool heights produce some of the most exciting, undervalued wines of France. His 'Art de Provence' has been our best selling rosé for some years and now his Alpes de Haut Provence 2014 … looks set to win him yet more followers.

Hubert, (pron. 'U-Burr') at Alpes de Haut Provence

As is our habit, we were there as the crop was arriving. Masses of fruit aroma. Great stuff to work with. Visit again next month to grab the best.

Air France is on strike yet again but it’s their subsidiary Air Corsica flying us to Figari. Why? Well, Corsica is, judging by their newspapers, still a fairly violent island.  Possibly, upsetting your passengers here could be fatal.

Our first wine buyer here was robbed at gunpoint in the mountains. And we are off to see a brave widow who once had her and her late husband's winery blown up from under them … what she dismisses as 'un événement plastique'. ('Plastique' round here does not a refer to picnic cutlery.)

Doors firmly locked we set off for Domaine Azitella. Originally from Normandy, Sophie Gandolph moved here from Paris and – ever elegant – looks Parisienne. She met her late husband there and her friends were horrified she was happy to leave for bandit land. He was one of the many Pieds Noirs – North African winemakers, who fled here when things got unpleasant. They usually succeeded well but there was a lot of anti-immigrant resentment … and, round here,  plastic explosive. Disaster.

The solution was to draw around them nine other wine producers – all native Corsicans – and build a new, communal cellar in the middle of her vineyards. That has offered protection. So far. The cellar is now presided over by the rather shy and retiring André Casanova. Maybe not a good name for such a quiet chap. It is actually run by a dynamic young winemaker from the Loire (Muscadet). But  Christophe Paitier was asleep, they said. 

Sophie works there as do others in the group. They are a particularly dynamic bunch and becoming very successful. We arrived after dark and very hungry so a bunch of them took us up into the dark hills to a rough-hewn little stone shack that was doing a roaring business with locals. I don't think they'll get tourists as there are no signs of any kind. It’s a while since I've eaten in a smoke-filled restaurant but laws, round here, are not enforced … or even known about! Menu was meat, meat and more meat. Plus fritters.

With Sophie ... night harvest

Afterwards we returned to the winery and watched grapes arriving – I love that – until at 2.am we just had to go sleep. The Directeur took us round the fizzing tanks, he now all awake, bright-eyed and bouncy … they harvest at night here because they want cold grapes … stay fresher … wine is fresher.  So ??? Sleeps in the afternoons and works all night and morning.

I saw something very rare in the receival bays; a mix of red and white grapes. The increasingly popular Sciacarellu vine (looks scary, but easy to pronounce: chac-ar-Ello) grows grapes of both colours which ripen at the same time. We are here mostly for their rosé which is getting very

popular. Clearly this is a grape variety just perfect for rosé.

We tried a lot of delicious juice in different hues. Chenin, Chardonnay, Grenache, Merlot, Sciacarellu, Nielluciu (pron: knee-El-Ootche). Corsica is Southern Provence. Wines are similar but a touch Italianised. No bad thing.  Must remember tank 52 chardonnay. We'll be back soon.

Club 55, St Tropez …

… the most glamorous beach restaurant in the world. Marks the spot on Pampelone beach where the phenomenon that is today's St Tropez began. St Tropez had been just a small fishing village nestled amongst vineyards until Brigitte Bardot made her first film there in 1955. She changed everything. The stars, the money and the super yachts flooded in. And the villas went up over rather too many old Grenache vineyards.

A friend

Bardot still lives amidst the vines of the remaining vignerons, and from  a group of these guys we have, for many years, been able to offer a great Rosé de Provence - from the few remaining pockets of old vines - called 'St Tropez'.

St Tropez vineyards

Today we met the grower's leader at Club 55. Well, he offered, so …  Under the trees, the place looks a picnic … but not a picnic as we know it, Captain. We'd never eaten at such a place before.   What was more surprising was that neither had our vigneron chum, despite being lifelong friend and neighbour of its owner.

He told us the story: Roger Vadim made his 'And God Created Woman' film on the beach in front of the holiday cabin of a Professor and his wife. The film crew asked them to help out with food and the poor lady found herself cooking for everyone all that summer … and the next. So … end of their tranquil holiday life. Their son the ethnologist Jean de Colmont now presides over a party that has continued to this day.

They say that should the crowd here – their Bentleys and Ferraris one side, their great yachts the other – ever be held-up at gunpoint the haul could pay off France's National Debt … a thought which must have occurred to President Hollande.

There are two entirely separate worlds at St Tropez. The post-1955 bling, and the old vigneron families clinging stubbornly to their old ways. In summer the winemakers now work at night; the only time the roads aren't jammed to a standstill. In the past we put in flying winemakers here to improve the wine we got but that is quite unnecessary now. They're good. We just have to come here early; like now – and again in a month – to make sure we have the best of the old vine stuff.

Simple … now. 2014 looking good, aromatic and abundant. Rare, that.

 

Doc Brun

On to next place; the winery of Doctor Brun...who left the family farm to become, for 30 years,  the local doctor. But when his father unexpectedly died he had to run the estate as well. Now retired as 'le toubib' (slang for doctor) at 66 he is still making wine in what might look to many like a garage in Gonfaron. He does it exceptionally well – has the good kit and the know-how – and has built the estate up to an impressive 50 hectares.

Domaine de Paris

We've worked with him many years.  There is a large family house in the vineyards called Paris - no-one knows why - but the family have never lived there. It’s just for reunions and parties he says … and he'll smarten it up one day, maybe! The Doctor, his son, daughter and Glaswegian son in law all actually live in the town next to the garage winery.

In Provence, there are many who have spent millions adding grandeur to their wine estates. Nobody should be fooled; ornamental gates, lawns, flamingoes and big swimming pools do not make a wine any better than that of the quiet, retired, respected Doctor in his anonymous garage by the village fountain under the plane trees. 

Relaxed glass or two, with him sitting by said fountain. Before driving on to Brignoles and a favourite hotel (much better than our usual standard) 'Abbaye de la Celle' where they put me (le Big Boss) in the bed they built specially for De Gaulle who hid away here to write his memoirs. It’s very long, black and grandly ornate … hope I can sleep.